The Last Laugh
by Amelia From A Fairy Tale
Summary: "The last thing Tim hears before he blacks out again is the stranger hissing, 'You're going to have to do better than that, replacement.'" Non-graphic mentions of torture.


I don't own Young Justice or Jason Todd.

* * *

Based off headcanon number 208 over at youngjusticeheadcanons on Tumblr (great source of inspiration for fics, haha):

208. In a desperate attempt to prove himself, Tim sought out the Joker. He was beaten brutally, but the Joker decided to keep him alive. Just after the second day he was being held had passed, a man wearing a bright red mask that covered his whole face slipped into the warehouse he was tied up in. The stranger started swearing loudly as soon as he spotted him, and untied him. The man lifted him very gently and made their escape. The last thing Tim heard before he blacked out again was the stranger hissing, "You are going to have to do better than that, replacement."

Warning: Blood and some brief, non-graphic mentions of torture.

* * *

Tim scowls at Dick's back as his elder brother exits the Cave via zeta tube. He's headed on a mission with the most experienced and strongest members of the Team, and this group does not include Tim. When the vigilante questioned Dick, wanting a reason behind his exclusion, his brother gave him the poor excuse that it was too dangerous a mission for someone yet untrained to work with the Team. Maybe if he was working alongside Batman and Dick and Batgirl, but Batman was involved in a mission in Europe and Batgirl was on a different mission for the Team. Right now, it just isn't safe enough.

Robin eyes the Team members that were lined up to use the zeta tubes, then turns and heads towards the garage with a swish of his cape. He'll ride his R-cycle back to Gotham; it will hopefully allow for him to clear his head. The computer announces his departure, but he's already out the Cave and speeding down the road by the time it finishes reciting his zeta assignment.

How does he prove to Dick that he _is_ a capable fighter, one worthy of battling alongside the Team against villains greater than someone like Condiment King? He needs to do something to prove that he's actually _Robin_. But what? What can he do to prove that he's capable of filling the rather large shoes that Dick and…_Jason_…left behind?

The crime fighter's scowl deepens, and he puts on even more speed. He'll figure something out once he gets back to Gotham. Maybe a villain will have escaped or something (hopefully a villain better than Calendar Man or Condiment King), and putting them back in jail or Arkham will be what he needs to prove himself. Dick hadn't exactly been obeying orders when he proved himself Robin (actually, when he _made_ the title Robin), and Jason had been _stealing tires off the Batmobile_. He figures he can't do anything worse than what's already been done.

(It's hard to beat being killed, but he never ever jokes about that)

* * *

Tim sits in his bedroom, listening to a police radio. He may have told Alfred that he wouldn't go on patrol tonight, but that doesn't mean he can't go after a villain if he escapes. Patrolling means going out and looking for trouble. Listening to the radio means waiting for trouble to happen. He's got his uniform and all his gear up in the room with him, and his R-cycle is parked in the bushes just below his window. If something happens, he's prepared.

"_Krrsh – Robbery at Dine n' Go on 52__nd__ Street – krrsh – no backup needed, officers on site – krrsh."_

"_Krrsh – we got a possible hostage situation down here at the harbor –" _Tim perks up; hostage situations were always difficult to handle, and dealing with one effectively would be a great boost for his reputation. But, alas. "_Krrsh – Never mind, unsub just shot himself. Hostage situation negated. Krrsh."_

Then, finally, a call he'd been waiting for.

"_Krrsh – Requesting immediate backup at Smight Street! It's the Joker! Somebody call in Batman! Krrsh." _

Tim is on alert immediately. _The Joker_. Well, he couldn't pick a better person to prove himself against. Batman's greatest nemesis; if he could take him down and send him back to Arhkam without getting himself killed, then no one on the Team would ever question his abilities or baby him _again_. Granted, it was a bit risky – okay, _a lot_ risky – but the pros _so_ outweighed the cons!

He turns the radio off for a second, listening for Alfred. He can't hear the old butler, but then again, hardly anyone ever does. Being as careful and as quiet as possible, he slips into his uniform and gears up, then climbs out his window and approaches the R-cycle. Walking the vehicle through the shadows until he reaches a decent distance from the manor, he then starts it up and speeds down the driveway towards downtown Gotham, turning the radio back on along the way.

Robin reaches the scene within a few minutes. Joker's robbing a bank, and it looks like he's already killed all the employees present. The teen takes a deep breath to prepare himself, then puts on a gas mask. It doesn't look like Joker's got any of his gas with him, but better safe than sorry – or dead. Grabbing a birdarang, the vigilante slides past police officers and their barricade without any of them noticing. He sneaks into a nearby alley, where he then proceeds to enter the bank via back door.

The Joker only had two men on this back entrance, and Tim takes them out swiftly and silently. He continues down the hallway, sticking to the shadows. Then, suddenly, the hallway branches. Which one leads to Joker? Robin's never been to this particular bank before, so he pulls out his navigation device. The gadget casts an eerie blue blow on his face, illuminating a section of the dark hallway. It looks as though he should take the hallway on the far right.

After tucking the device back into his belt, Robin looks up to find goons surrounding him on all sides. He bites back a curse – he probably didn't knock one of the men at the door out completely, or the light from his navigation tool attracted the minions. Either way, he's got some unwanted company and he's sorely outnumbered. The odds don't look so good, but then again these are just grunts, not highly trained fighters like Tim.

The vigilante pulls out his bo staff, letting it fully elongate before he begins to attack. Activating the electrically-charged end, he swipes it in a circle, hoping to hit some of his enemies. Unfortunately, he only hits two or three at the most, and he's fairly certain there's still ten left standing. Luckily, though, the sparks of electricity illuminated the area and his opponents, so he has a better grip on the situation.

One brute approaches with a swift right hook, and Tim slides under his meaty fist to return the attack with a sweeping kick to the ankles. He's down, but not out, and his attack seems to be a nonverbal cue to the others to begin attacking. Suddenly, Tim's dodging punches and kicks from all sides, until it becomes too much because of the crowded space and poor odds. He takes one blow, and suddenly he's taking a lot more.

The young crime fighter finally manages to stand up and make a few retaliating attacks (_this is so not going well oh my god he's going to end up just like Jason_), but then one goon stops it all with a gun. Tim barely catches the telltale _ch-chink_ of a gun before he dodges to the side, but it's not enough. Jumping aside probably saved his life, but he's been shot. The bullet managed to slip right through the seams of the padding in his suit.

This is the first time Robin has ever been shot, and he's not prepared for the pain at all. He gasps, eyes wide, and both of his gloved hands race to clutch at the wound in his side. The bo staff falls to the floor, forgotten, while the vigilante collapses to his knees, then his uninjured side. There's a lot of blood. He can feel it pooling around him as he lays on the ground, seeping into his suit. The brutes above him laugh, and one takes his cape in his hands and begins dragging Robin across the floor towards Joker. The crime fighter whimpers at the pain the sudden movement causes, and hot tears stream down his face from under his mask.

"Yo, boss," the one who has his cape addresses the Joker, "We got a live one. Well," he pauses to laugh, "barely alive." The other goons seem to find this joke funny as well, and they all begin to laugh uproariously.

"Is that so?" The Joker's voice sends chills down Tim's spine, but does nothing to relieve the white-hot pain of the gunshot wound. He can hear the villain approaching, the tapping of his shoes on the polished marble floor. Suddenly, the Joker's face is _right there_ in all its sadistically smiling glory. "Well, look at what we have here! Another little birdie! Bats sure does find _replacements_ quickly…" The monster laughs, and his putrid breath makes Tim want to vomit. Suddenly, he's reminded that _this is the man who killed Jason_. For all his insanity, the Joker is an _extremely _dangerous person, and Tim finds himself extremely regretful of his decision to go after him.

The pain in his side increases, and Tim can barely hold back a cry of pain. The tears fall faster, and a strangled sob escapes his mouth despite the fact that he's biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. "Looks like the birdie's in _pain_," the Joker leers, and another sob escapes Tim despite his contrary efforts. He _does not _want to show this man any sort of weakness, but he can't help it. He's still bleeding, and the pain mixed with the blood loss is starting to make him dizzy. "What's that you say?" The Joker leans down again, putting a hand by his ear as if he's trying to hear Robin say something. "Oh, you want more? Well, we can certainly arrange that…"

The last thing Tim sees before he slides off into unconsciousness is the Joker slipping a cloth (that most definitely smells of chloroform) over his nose and mouth.

* * *

The next time Tim awakes, he's tied to a chair in a dusty old warehouse. The throbbing pain in his side reminds him of his wound, but when he looks down to check on its condition he finds that his view is blocked by the ropes holding him to the chair. He tries to tug on the ropes, but moving his arms only makes his side hurt even more. He cautiously wonders if the wound is infected; the Joker hardly seems to be the type of person who would properly cleanse and dress his injuries.

"Is the little birdie awake?" Tim's head shoots up to find the Joker approaching from the shadows. There's something metal in his hands…a _crow bar!_ No, Tim does not like where this is heading _at all._ "Well, we'll just have to fix that…" A wicked, sinister laugh, then _WHAM!_

Robin sees stars. Well, that's what he _would_ say if it didn't _hurt_ so much. People always mention the stars – they never mention the agonizing pain.

The Joker hits him again and again, over and over, all over his body, but Tim never makes any noise more than a sob or a whimper. "Why so serious?" the Joker questions with a malevolent grin, and proceeds to hit him right on his gunshot wound. Tim's world _explodes _in pain. He finally gives into temptation, and screams at the top of his lungs, but all it does is make the Joker laugh even more.

Eventually, the pain proves to be too much, and Tim passes out.

* * *

The cycle continues every couple of hours. Tim's not sure how he's still alive, but at this point he's almost wishing the Joker would just _finish _him already. He's either unconscious or barely conscious all the time, but he always feels the pain. He's beginning to wonder if he'll ever _not_ be in pain again, because his odds of getting out of here are growing slimmer every time he wakes up.

* * *

Then, suddenly, just as the third day of Tim's capture begins (not that he's aware of it), hope arrives in the form of man wearing a red biker helmet. At this point, both of Tim's eyes are almost completely swollen shut, so all he sees is a red blur where a head should be. _But red is good_, his tired and confused mine tells him, _because red isn't green like the Joker. Red is a friend._

He tries to ask who his savior is, but it comes out as an anguished groan instead. The man – at least, he thinks it's a man. He's not seeing very well, but the figure doesn't look like that of a woman's – crouches down in front of him and curses, then pulls out something sharp and begins to cut Tim's bloody ropes. The young vigilante can barely stay upright without his bindings, and falls forward into his rescuers arms.

The man – yes, he's definitely a man – catches him as gently as he can, then carefully lifts him into his arms. "Hold on," he says, then shoots a grappling hook (where did he get one of those?) towards one of the steel beams in the ceiling. Still trying not to jostle Tim's wounds, the man exits the warehouse through an open skylight (must've been how he got in).

His rescuer makes his way across several rooftops before he finally stops, settling Tim down as carefully as he can. The young vigilante wonders if the man is going to leave him here, but then he hears him on the phone. No, wait, that's a police radio!

"Sorry to interrupt your donut time, officers, but this is Red Hood and I just found a badly beaten and almost dead Robin. He doesn't look like he'll last much longer, so you should probably get an ambulance down to James Street ASAP. Later!" He picked Tim up again, then made his way down to street level.

He can already hear the sirens approaching as the man – Red Hood? – sets him down again, this time on the street. The older man – actually, up close, he looks a bit younger…almost a teenager – does a quick check to make sure the injured vigilante hasn't died on him, and Tim catches a glimpse of what he thinks may be a red Batsymbol on his chest. What?

"You're going to have to do better than that, _replacement_," the man says wryly, and that's the last thing Tim hears before he falls unconscious again.

* * *

A/N: Just FYI, there's a sequel in progress. I couldn't just leave the story hanging there, but I tried adding the sequel at the end and it just wasn't working right.

I just...I really want some Jason in Young Justice. I love Tim, the awkward turtle that he is, but some Jason would be really nice...


End file.
